A Labour councillor who backed the closure of his town’s public toilets earlier this year, has been caught peeing in the street

Jackie Burns, who is deputy leader for South Lanarkshire, Scotland, was spotted by police urinating in Hamilton on Saturday after an ‘enjoyable evening’ and was handed a £40 fine.

Burns told reporters: ‘It’s very embarrassing. I was in a taxi rank at the bottom cross after being at a function.

‘I got caught short and went down a lane at the bottom cross to relieve myself. I was noticed by the police and given a £40 fine.’

Ironically, Burns was the councillor who announced the closure of local public toilets in May, blaming Scottish government cuts, so the incident is even more embarrassing for him.

At the time, Burns had said that the council had to cut £22 million from its budget which meant that all public conveniences would be closing.

SNP councillor Pete Craig said the ‘very embarrassing situation’ highlighted the need for more public toilets.

‘The community council have been trying to keep the public toilets open, especially for anyone with disabilities. This just goes to show that it’s not only an embarrassing issue, but that we’re in need of public toilets.’